The Asian Development Bank's Knowledge Management in Action

Vision, Learning, and Collaboration

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• Publisher: Asian Development Bank
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9789292691806
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Knowledge Capital
• Index: Business

This book documents ADB's knowledge management journey since 1966 and looks at how the bank has emerged as an increasingly valuable knowledge advisor to its developing member countries. It tracks the evolution of ADB as a platform for sharing ideas, knowledge, and experience on key development challenges in Asia and the Pacific and beyond. To showcase some of ADB's knowledge management successes, the book presents 42 knowledge solutions across 10 sectors.

Challenges, Breakthroughs, Impact: Knowledge Solutions

As ADB’s knowledge management has evolved, across the entire organization project teams have been empowered to put knowledge solutions at the center of their work with DMCs. The case studies that follow showcase just some of the many successes in knowledge management over the years and highlight ADB’s evolving role as a key source of advice, information, and intelligence.

AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SECURITY

Improved Food Security in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Project Name:	Northern Rural Infrastructure Development Sector Project
Region/Country:	Southeast Asia/Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Sector and Themes:	Agriculture and Food Security
Year:	2011–Present
Team Leader (current):	Khamtanh Chanthy

The project highlights the importance of complementary capacity building initiatives for national, provincial, and district agencies to enable the creation of a sector development approach.

Improved irrigation facilities and agriculture infrastructure can help food security for the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.

Development challenge

Less than 10% of the land in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) was classified as arable, with only about one-fifth irrigated. Mountainous terrain, drought, and lack of infrastructure restricted arable land and the farming seasons, often threatening the year’s food crop.

Solution

Year-round crop growing through improved irrigation facilities and agriculture infrastructure can help ensure food security for the Lao PDR. ADB is helping the country improve agriculture infrastructure in the northern regions to boost farm yields and income, through improved irrigation systems and rural access roads. The project has rehabilitated and upgraded rural access roads from the command irrigation areas to villages. A first phase financed through the Asian Development Fund (ADF), the Northern Rural Infrastructure Development Sector Project, targeted 26 gravity-fed irrigation schemes to improve water supply in arid farmland. Additional ADF grants of $35.6 million targeted funding for 22 additional irrigation systems and new farm access roads.

Knowledge products and services delivered

The project has supported improved monitoring and evaluation, and the creation of water user groups, and farmer production groups for improved management of agriculture land, for farmers’ more bargaining power to negotiate with buyers. The project helped train water user groups and farmer production groups to better manage the upgraded and newly created infrastructure. It has supported subproject beneficiaries and producer groups to coordinate supplies of agricultural products to markets and processors and contracted agricultural production with price incentives based on quality and introduced initiatives to secure land tenure and access to land for sedentary agricultural production. Land rezoning helped protect the integrity of watersheds and reservoirs. Institutional capacity building was also provided for national and subnational agencies toward a sector development approach.

These helped to improve agricultural productivity, diversify crops, and commercialize the low-performing agriculture sector in the northern region. There are 33 ongoing training programs in technical, social, and geographic information systems, project monitoring and evaluation, operation and maintenance, value chain development, and financial management. These programs will train almost 3,000 trainees (29% women). Some 60 water user groups and village road maintenance committees were established and registered for all the 22 subprojects. The water user groups have 276 members, of which 116 (42%) are women, and the village road maintenance committees have 55 members (33% women). Fourteen farmer production groups were established at 12 subprojects. They have implemented contract farming with local and Chinese investors to sell their commercialized agriculture production to Chinese border markets.

Impact and results

The project supported increased agricultural productivity in the four northern provinces of Bokeo, Luang Namtha, Oudomxay, and Phongsaly. With gravity irrigation, most of the farmers have focused on planting commercialized agriculture products with high market demand, where they can earn a more stable income. The project has also improved irrigation systems and strengthened food security.

Ongoing training programs for 3,000 male and female trainees will help improve agricultural productivity.

Lessons for replication

The project highlights the importance of complementary capacity building initiatives for national, provincial, and district agencies for a sector development approach. Study tours enabled project participants to visit and exchange lessons with others, learn good practice, build networks, and exchange technical experience.

The project has improved irrigation systems and strengthened food security.

Hashtags:

#LaoPDR, #Agriculture, #Transport, #FoodSecurity, #Training, #HelpToFarmers

Find out more:

• https://bit.ly/3DHAYgh

AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SECURITY

Enhancing the Potential of Wholesale Markets through Training on Market Infrastructure and Agriculture Value Chains in Spain

Project Name:	Training on Market Infrastructure and Agriculture Value Chains: The Potential of Wholesale Markets, 24–28 July 2017 and 24–28 June 2019, Spain
Region/Country:	Regional/Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Uzbekistan, and Viet Nam
Sector and Themes:	Agriculture and Food Security
Year:	2016–Present
Project Leader:	Md. Abul Basher

“Having watched during these days how Mercasa has been solving issues and challenges throughout its history, it’s a very good example for us of what needs to be done in our country to make an efficient system of food distribution.”

—Kazakhstan Study Tour Participant

Through training, the project helped disseminate best practices in agricultural market infrastructure and value chains.

Development challenge

Over a billion people in Asia still suffer from food insecurity, threatening to reverse progress to date in ending hunger and malnutrition. This progress has been slow due to the complex nature of food security, which is affected by multiple factors, includi...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Abbreviations
• The Asian Development Bank’s Knowledge Management Journey: Decades of Learning, Engagement, and Vision
• The ADB Institute: Vision, Milestones, and Achievements
• Challenges, Breakthroughs, Impact: Knowledge Solutions
• The Road Ahead
• Footnotes
• Back Cover